Tag Indian mythology

The Monkey King Temples of Fujian

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Last updated: 02-15-2021

The Journey to the West Research blog is proud to host an entry by our friend Saie Surendra of Hanumovies.com. During the summer of 2019, he was lucky enough to visit several Great Sage Equaling Heaven temples in Fujian, including those dedicated to him and those hosting small shrines in his honor. This entry will serve as a list of such temples. – Jim

Saie

Saie admiring a Monkey King statue at the Wong Tai Sin temple in Kowloon, Hong Kong (larger version).

I. My journey

So how did my journey to the various Great Sage Equalling Heaven temples in Fujian begin? I guess I’ll start from the beginning. Growing up, I would often see images or figurines of the Hindu Monkey God Hanuman in fellow Sri Lankan and Indian homes. For those who don’t know, Hanuman is the Indian counterpart of Sun Wukong and potentially the first known Monkey God. I was curious and intrigued and wanted to know more, but I didn’t get many answers from the people I asked. “He protects us and can revive us from bad health” was the most common reply. I researched the many translations of the Ramayana (one of two great Indian epics within which Hanuman appears) and became enchanted by his many amazing feats and achievements. I was a huge film fan growing up, so I became obsessed with the idea of making films based on him. There have been TV adaptations of Hanuman’s story—I wasn’t a fan of the more human-like portrayals—but, sadly, major Indian studios have yet to make a proper movie about him.

Fast-forward to 2008. Jet Li and Jackie Chan star in the kung fu fantasy The Forbidden Kingdom. Looking back now, it isn’t the greatest film ever, but this is when I first met … Sun Wukong (cue the “Dagger House Prelude”). This was a turning point for me, my obsession multiplied tenfold. Since then I have watched tens, if not hundreds, of film and TV adaptations of Sun Wukong. I’ve also read endless articles and books (one example) in an effort to connect the dots between our (Hindu and Buddho-Daoist) ancestors’ worship of monkey deities. I’ve found there are just too many similarities to ignore.

At first, I had never heard of Sun Wukong’s worship. So when I found the one vague article online describing the Monkey King Festival (the 16th day of the 8th lunar month) in Hong Kong, I decided I would go! I didn’t know what to expect when Jim and I met at the Great Sage Treasure Temple (大聖寶廟) in Kowloon in September of 2018, but it was a big moment for me. Crowds of young and old gathered to worship the Great Sage Equalling Heaven; Daoist priests chanted from prayer books; rows of important businesspeople bowed in unison; martial arts schools performed colorful lion dances, each kwoon paying respect to the altar as they passed; giant paper effigies were burnt. It was a veritable feast for the eyes and ears. Through our interviews with the locals, we not only learned that the festival was considered a time for strengthening community bonds and to help those in need, but also that many adherents believed their faith originated in Fujian, more specifically the city of Fuzhou. This of course agrees with what past scholars have written about Sun’s worship in Fujian.

I have a question: If you ever found yourself in heaven, what would you do? You’d take some good videos to show your friends back on Earth, right? So that was the idea; I started making a documentary (video 1) based on the real people I met and the places I visited, saving my film ambitions for later.

Video 1 – Legends of a Monkey God: Episode 1 – Hong Kong

I was restless some months after returning from the Hong Kong Monkey God Festival. It was like experiencing Heaven for a week and then falling back to Earth like a meteor with many unanswered questions. I was unable to sit around in my miserable London life any longer, so I finally decided to travel where Sun’s worship supposedly began … Fuzhou.

Arriving in Fuzhou was like a pilgrimage in itself. Let me say, this was not an easy journey for me, nor for the translator friend I hired due to my poor Mandarin. The Hokkien accent of Fuzhou gave her a hard time. In addition, the many places I had researched and mapped online seemingly didn’t exist. We visited one after another, with the locals appearing clueless about the temples we inquired about. It was almost as if Sun Wukong’s worship was a secret and only initiated members were allowed access to his houses of worship. Now, there is a saying in India that goes: “You can’t just find Him, He has to invite you”. This saying holds true, for when we finally found one of the locations (see temple one below), a person inside told us about a man who could help me on my journey. I thought, “Hang on a minute … was this guy the savior goddess Guanyin? Was he going to introduce me to my … Sun Wukong?”

I was later introduced to Mr. You, the head of several temples, the Pingshan theatre, and the greatest Sun Wukong follower I have ever met. He set aside two whole days to drive us to several Monkey King temples around Fuzhou, during which time I shot video for another documentary (video 2). I wondered whether or not he wanted anything in return. I mean, no one does anything for free, right? It turns out he was more than happy just to share his Sun Wukong with me and invite me into his secret club! He would not accept any gifts from me. I felt like I was the Tang Monk! And here is the thing: Mr. You and his friends didn’t speak a single word of English—in fact, my Mandarin was unbearable to them—yet we somehow managed to communicate and establish a strong friendship between us, “Brothers bound by the love of Monkey”. I promised myself then that I would return with better Mandarin in a Fujian dialect.

Video 2 – Legends of a Monkey God: Episode 3 – Monkey King Temples of Fujian, China

What I took away from this trip was the fact that Sun Wukong is a deity that sits at the intersection of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. I saw effigies of him in temples of all the “Three Religions”, sometimes shared, sometimes strictly one faith. But the idea of religion in the East is not the same as that in the West. In the East, you find your own path, follow it to your goal; you don’t need to be on the same path as everyone else and no one judges you for making your own way. It’s just like the Indians say: “The destination is the same, paths are many. God is one, names and forms are many”. This ties in with the works of famed mythologist Joseph Campbell, who would call this the many “masks of God”.

II. Temple list

Note: This list is not exhaustive and will be updated periodically. Most importantly, the following GPS coordinates should ONLY be used as a general guideline. It is highly recommended that those wishing to visit these places should hire the services of a knowledgeable guide. I recommend contacting Mr. You (WeChat id: you410631621)  

IMG_6748

A shrine in Mr. You’s house (larger version).

Temple One: 玉封齐天府屏山祖殿
26°04’45.0″N 119°18’42.6″E
福建省福州市鼓楼区三界寺
Sanjie Temple, Gulou District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China
38H6+MP Gulou District, Fuzhou, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/100BSlUbbWHryQbA3PJ3MQ9Fe2HKFrGEA?usp=sharing

IMG_6054

Temple Two
26°04’10.1″N 119°19’56.1″E
福建省福州市晋安区
Eastern District Shangquan, Jin’an, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China
389J+QW Jin’an, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KIgsIyvIItRwX_iUYy6SWRW1GzW6BKSB/view?usp=sharing

IMG_6161

Temple Three
26°01’46.8″N 119°15’56.1″E
福建省福州市仓山区百花洲路
Baihua Zhou Road, Cangshan District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China
27H8+V6 Cangshan, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EJZ6mK7iSkWNjh0ny5F0PAK_fz2Iltye?usp=sharing

IMG_6298

Temple Four：霞江清泉庵 (齊天大聖殿)
26°02’41.4″N 119°18’34.7″E
福建省福州市仓山区
28V5+WV Cangshan, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CIgOcXGuN7e0hrAlic41O5ZGAbzZmoX7?usp=sharing

For more pictures, see this article.

IMG_6353

Temple Five
26°02’05.1″N 119°21’10.7″E
福建省福州市仓山区后坂路
Houban Road, Cangshan District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China
29M3+W5 Cangshan, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vlJwCKWkEQ56mREemn6dEqXFbj-6SIh2?usp=sharing

IMG_6427

Temple Six
26°06’23.6″N 119°14’30.2″E
福建省福州市闽侯县
Unnamed Road, Minhou County, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China
464R+JM Cangshan, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PzTl1fY4MSMnRzEpS1OsPTQBvZBhh4o9?usp=sharing

IMG_6662

Temple Seven: 慈恩寺
26°08’54.4″N 119°08’56.9″E
福建省福州市闽侯县军民路
Junmin Rd, Minhou County, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China
44XX+9M Ganzhezhen, Minhou, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zYxDNCUwH31uqvX7YwTJo6y_LGR4sDMH?usp=sharing

IMG_6681

Temple Eight
26°04’26.2″N 119°11’25.5″E
福建省福州市闽侯县
G316 Minhou County, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China
35FR+H5 Shangjiezhen, Minhou, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1P08tT7thZ8WzEaEQTuvM_8qmidyAQh4u?usp=sharing

IMG_6742

Temple Nine
26°01’49.8″N 119°17’26.7″E
福建省福州市仓山区鹭岭路163号
163 Luling Road, Cangshan District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China
27JR+68 Cangshan, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ViwqZumbEqbfJ8ROfpeApsKRpfcwi27q?usp=sharing

IMG_6765

Update: 02-15-2021

Jim here. I have mirrored this article by creating a list of Monkey King temples that I’ve visited in Taiwan.

Qitian Dasheng Monkey King Temples in Taiwan

The Monkey King and Cinderella

Jim R. McClanahan Leave a comment

Did you know that the Monkey King has a connection to Cinderella?! In this brief article, I will summarize some of the findings laid out in Beauchamp (n.d.), which highlights the presence of the Cinderella story cycle in the ethnic folklore of China, a world famous India epic, and even Journey to the West (Xiyouji, 西遊記, 1592).

I. Egypt and Greece

Before I continue, I want to briefly mention one of the oldest Western variants of the Cinderella story cycle, Rhodopis, a tale set in ancient Egypt.

The story describes how the god Horus sends an eagle (or takes the form of one) to steal the slipper of the titular Greek slave and delivers it to an Egyptian Pharaoh, who launches a search for and eventually marries the woman (fig. 1). The tale was first recorded by the Greek geographer Strabo in 7 BCE (Ripley, 2010, pp. 185-188). However, the work is part of a wider story cycle evident throughout Asia and the Middle East.

Fig. 1 – The Pharaoh finds Rhodopis (larger version).

II. China

The earliest version that appears to have many of the familiar elements from the final European version hails from China. Titled “Yexian” (葉限), the story describes the titular heroine working as an imprisoned servant for her evil stepmother, the bestowal of a beautiful dress and slippers by a female ancestor from heaven, her attendance of a local festival, the loss of one of her slippers while fleeing the festivities, the discovery of the shoe by a foreign king, and a search that results in their eventual marriage. The story is based on the oral tales of the Zhuang ethnic people (of the Vietnamese-Chinese border) and was first recorded by Duan Chengshi (段成式) in the 9th-century CE (Ripley, 2010, pp. 191-192; Beauchamp, n.d.).

III. India

Certain elements of the story appear to have been influenced by the great Hindu epic the Ramayana, written by Valmiki around 500 BCE. The story tells how Sita, the wife of Vishnu’s reincarnation Prince Rama, is kidnapped and held prisoner by the demon Ravana (with the intent of making her his wife) on the island of Lanka. It is during her time in captivity that she is visited by Rama’s servant, Hanuman, a monkey demi-god, who brings her the prince’s ring to prove himself a trustworthy ally (fig. 2). The simian character then brings her anklet to Rama to prove that she is still alive. Rama’s army assaults Ranava’s fortress, and he is eventually reunited with his wife.

This at first may not seem like it matches at all, but you have an imprisoned beauty (Sita vs Yexian), supernatural assistance from heaven (Hanuman vs. the female ancestor), the exchange of personal items to prove one’s identity (the ring and anklet vs the slipper), and a campaign that brings together the woman and a man of royal blood (Sita and Rama vs Yexian and the foreign king) (Beauchamp, n.d.).

Hanuman gives Sita Rama’s ring in the Sandara Kanda book of the Ramayana:

Sarga 34

1. Hanuman, the immensely powerful son of Maruta the wind god, humbly addressed further words to Sita in order to inspire her confidence:
2. “I am a monkey, virtuous woman, a messenger of wise Rama. My lady, look at this ring marked with Rama’s name. Take heart, bless you, for your troubles will soon be at an end.”
3. Taking her husband’s ring and examining it, Janaki was as joyous as if she had rejoined her husband.
4. Her lovely face-its long eyes all red and white-lit up with joy, like the moon, the lord of stars, when released from Rahu, demon of the eclipse (Valmiki et. al., 2016, p. 207).

Fig. 2 – Hanuman giving Sita Rama’s ring (larger version).

IV. Journey to the West

Some scholars believe that secularized snippets of the Rama story cycle came to China in several waves, one of which was via Southeast Asian Hindu converts who settled in Southern China from the 7th-century onwards (Walker, 1998).

This then might explain an episode from Journey to the West that appears to draw from the Rama cycle. In chapters 68 to 71, a queen is kidnapped and held prisoner by a demon (with the intent of making her his wife) in a faraway land. Sun Wukong is employed to find her. He brings back a bracelet to her husband as proof of life and identity, and eventually reunites the couple after defeating the demon (Beauchamp, n.d.).

Monkey shows the bracelet to the Queen in chapter 70:

On hearing this, the lady shouted for the two rows of vixen and deer [spirits] to leave. After he closed the palace door, Pilgrim gave his own face a wipe and changed back into his original form. He said to the lady, “Don’t be afraid of me. I am a priest sent by the Great Tang in the Land of the East to go seek scriptures from Buddha in the Thunderclap Monastery of India in the Great Western Heaven. My master is Tripitaka Tang, the bond-brother of the Tang emperor, and I am Sun Wukong, his eldest disciple. When we passed through your kingdom and had to have our travel rescript certified, we saw a royal proclamation issued for the recruitment of physicians. I exercised my great ability in the therapeutic arts, and I cured the king of his illness of ardent longing. During the banquet he [came] to thank me, he told me while we were drinking about how you were abducted by the fiend. Since I have the knowledge of subduing dragons and taming tigers, he asked me specially to come arrest the fiend and rescue you back to the kingdom. It was I who defeated the vanguard, and it was I, too, who slew the little fiend [note: Monkey is disguised as him]. When I saw, however, how powerful the fiend was outside the gate, I changed myself into the form of Going and Coming [note: the little fiend] in order to take the risk of contacting you here.”

On hearing what he said, the lady fell silent. Whereupon Pilgrim took out the treasure bracelets and presented them with both hands, saying, “If you don’t believe me, take a good look at these objects.”

The moment she saw them, the lady began to weep, as she left her seat to bow to Pilgrim, saying, “Elder, if you could indeed rescue me and take me back to the kingdom, I would never forget your great favor!” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 3, p. 297).

娘娘聞言，喝退兩班狐、鹿。行者掩上宮門，把臉一抹，現了本像，對娘娘道：「你休怕我。我是東土大唐差往大西天天竺國雷音寺見佛求經的和尚。我師父是唐王御弟唐三藏。我是他大徒弟孫悟空。因過你國倒換關文，見你君臣出榜招醫，是我大施三折之肱，把他相思之病治好了，排宴謝我。飲酒之間，說出你被妖攝來。我會降龍伏虎，特請我來捉怪，救你回國。那戰敗先鋒是我，打死小妖也是我。我見他門外兇狂，是我變作有來有去模樣，捨身到此，與你通信。」那娘娘聽說，沉吟不語。行者取出寶串，雙手奉上道：「你若不信，看此物何來？」娘娘一見垂淚，下座拜謝道：「長老，你果是救得我回朝，沒齒不忘大恩。」

V. Comparison

Beauchamp (n.d.) provides a diagram showing the similarities between the stories of Yexian, Sita, and the queen from Journey to the West (fig. 3).

Fig. 3 – Comparative Chart of Cinderella Variants (larger version).

Sources:

Beauchamp, F. (n.d.). In the Realm of the Dragon King: Sita and Hanuman meet Cinderella and Sun Wukong. Retrieved from http://www.asdp-bridgingcultures.org/Beauchamp%20-%20Realm%%E2%80%A6. [Original link dead. Click on article title to read.]

Ripley, D. (2010). The Maiden with a Thousand Slippers: Animal Helpers and the Hero(ine)’s Journey. In P. Monaghan (Ed.). Goddesses in World Culture (pp. 185-200). Santa Barbara, California: Praeger.

Valmiki, Goldman, R. P., & Goldman, S. J. (2016). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India, Volume V: Sundarakāṇḍa. United States: Princeton University Press.

Walker, H.S. (1998). Indigenous or Foreign? A Look at the Origins of Monkey Hero Sun Wukong. Sino-Platonic Papers, 81, pp. 1-117. Retrieved from https://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp081_monkey_sun_wukong.pdf.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.